Study Guide
Study Guide Contents
GENERAL INFORMATION
- Beginner's Guide to Opera
- Who's Who At the Opera
- The Lyric Opera House
- BOC Education Programs
- A Bibliography of Selected Readings
- Education Resources
2007-2008 SEASON
2006-2007 SEASON
2005-2006 SEASON
2004-2005 SEASON
2003-2004 SEASON
2002-2003 SEASON
PREVIOUS OPERAS
Roméo et Juliette
Michel Carré and Jules Barbier
The two co-librettists for Roméo et Juliette were a famous "team" in nineteenth century opera.
Michel Carré was born in Besançon on 21 October, 1822. He initially aspired to be a painter, but a lyric talent emerged, and he be became famous in Paris for his poetry and libretti for both operas and opera-comiques. As was the common practice of the day, he collaborated on these libretti, and so the libretto for Les Pêcheurs de Perles was written with his friend Eugène Cormon. However, Carré's most memorable work was in collaboration with his friend Jules Barbier, with whom he wrote the libretti for Gounod's Faust and Roméo et Juliette, Thomas' Hamlet, and Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann. Michel Carré died in Paris on 27 June 1872. His son, Michel-Antoine, was also a librettist, and in later life turned to directing silent films.
Jules Barbier was born in Paris on 8 March, 1825. A noted Parisian Bon Vivant and man of letters, he also wrote the libretti for Massé's Galatée, Thomas' Francesca da Rimini, and Meyerbeer's Dinorah, known today only by way of the famous "Shadow Song" (Ombre légère), long a favorite with coloratura sopranos. He outlived Michel Carre by many years, dying in Paris on 16 January, 1901.
- Roméo et Juliette
- The Story
- Charles Gounod
- Michel Carré and Jules Barbier
- Reflections on Roméo et Juliette From the Conductor's Podium
- William Shakespeare and His Play “Romeo and Juliet”
- Perspectives on the Aria "Mab La Reine des Mensonges"
- Sleeping Potions in Opera
- A Cappella Choruses in Opera
- The Rose
- The Operas of Charles Gounod
- Roméo et Juliette Discography